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Bryan Hansel is a freelance writer, award-winning photographer and an American Canoe Association L4 Open Water Coastal Kayaking Instructor. His home port is on Lake Superior in Grand Marais, Minnesota. He also teaches photography workshops.

Natural Selection is a wonderful thing. This was a Facebook response to a news report about a kayaker drowning on the Great Lakes (See: Search for missing kayaker continues). The news report tells us that two men in their 20s went kayaking on Lake Huron. They weren’t wearing lifejackets and both capsized. One of the […]

It’s that time of the year when wood boat builders gather in the northern reach of the state of Minnesota and show off their wood boats. This year wooden canoes, both new and restored, stole the show. Without further ado, here’s the pictures. Seliga Wide Plank, 17′, Restored at the North House Folk School Thompson […]

In a recent email from Marcelo, who built a Siskiwit SOF back in 2015, he wrote: My wife stole my Siskiwit! LOL Hence, I needed to build another kayak for me, I choose a skin-on-frame baidarka. I added a system of bulkheads and dry hatches for camping gear and a rudder/skeg for trim in winds. Some […]

Americana, folk-singer Jerry Vandiver, always a favorite at Canoecopia, picked up a new sponsorship with Northstar Canoes. That sponsorship lead to a breakout of music at the Northstar booth at this year’s Canoecopia. Vandiver brought Amberly Rosen and Ashleigh Caudill to play in his band and together they cause a big commotion on the expo floor. […]

It’s one of those days when I have a pile of work to do, but just want to watch videos about paddling. And then I stumbled onto this Cape Wrath packrafting and fat biking video. After about two hours of dreaming up trips to do with a fat bike and packraft, I think I better […]

The MyCanoe is a foldable, origami-style plastic canoe designed for easy storage and transport. This 14′ 6″ canoe folds up in a similar style to the more familiar Oru Kayak, and it packs down into two cases. The first case, created in part by parts of the canoe, measures approximately 37 inches wide by 25 inches high […]

If you have been a long time reader of the website, you know that I’m officially out of the kayaking business. After years in the canoe and kayak retail business, years of guiding and then years of owning a kayak guiding business, I got out of it — it is now a hobby of mine. […]

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About

Paddlinglight.com is an online resource for paddlers. It offers information about lightweight canoe and kayak travel, how-to articles, trip reports, adventure stories, kayak plans, canoe plans and reviews. We promote self-direction by emphasizing the do-it-yourself culture, and we believe growing paddlesport participation advances wilderness protection. Part of our mission is promoting the protection and preservation of our federal, state and local lands.